Rapid estimation of TOC in a marine urban sewage area by UV spectral deconvolution

A simple and rapid procedure for on-site qualitative and quantitative analysis of organic matter from discharges of municipal wastewater in seawater has been developed. This method is based on the knowledge of the UV signal of both seawater and anthropogenic absorbing matter and on the mathematical deconvolution of the sample spectrum using reference spectra. The main application is the estimation of TOC at the direct outlet of the discharge. This quantitative application is obviously limited by the nature of organic compounds, but the UV estimation allowed us to have an overview of the composition and evolution of organic matter into the polluted area. The application of this procedure has been carried out to study the wastewater dilution into an area receiving urban discharges. Experiments showed satisfactory analytical features with a range of TOC values from 75 to 1500?µM C, and the comparison of the results with those obtained by reference method presented a reasonable correlation (r ²?=?0.9636) in the marine discharge. The results have also allowed us to quickly estimate the plume evolution at the sea surface and in depth. This alternative method could be integrated in a portable device for on-site analysis and multiplication of measurements for relevant results, or in a continuous flow analyser.     

Application of laser-induced breakdown spectrometry in urban health

The use of laser-induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS) for elemental determination and detection in urban health is reviewed. It highlights the unique use of LIBS in fiber-based optics, in process control, and for field instrumentation. Selected applications confirm that LIBS could be the technique of choice for many applications in urban health.     

Acoustic comfort evaluation in urban open public spaces

This paper presents the results of an intensive questionnaire survey and objective measurements on soundscape, aiming at the evaluation of acoustic comfort in urban open public spaces. From summer 2001 to spring 2002, 9200 interviews were made for four seasons in 14 urban open public spaces across Europe. The results suggest that the subjective evaluation of the sound level generally relates well with the mean L_eq, especially when the sound level is below a certain level, which is 73 dBA on the basis of this study. However, considerable differences have been found between the subjective evaluation of the sound level and the acoustic comfort evaluation: people tend to show more tolerance in terms of acoustic comfort evaluation. The background sound level has been found to be an important index in evaluating soundscape in urban open public spaces - a lower background level tends to make people feel quieter. Analyses of individual sound elements show that the acoustic comfort evaluation is greatly affected by the sound source type - introducing a pleasant sound can considerably improve the acoustic comfort, even when its sound level is rather high. No significant difference was found among different age groups in terms of subjective evaluation of a sound level, whereas in terms of acoustic comfort, there were significant differences.     

Gas chromatography - optical fiber detector for assessment of fatty acids in urban soils

Fatty acids have been used as biomarkers of the microbial community composition of soils and they are usually separated and quantified by gas-chromatography coupled to a flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The aim of this study was to develop, validate and apply a methodology based on gas chromatography coupled to optical fiber detection (GC-OF) for screening five fatty acids used as indicators of fungal and bacterial communities in urban soils. The performance of the GC-OF methodology (optical fiber detector at 1550 nm) was evaluated by comparison with the GC-FID methodology and it was found that they were comparable in terms of linear range, detection limit and analytical errors. Besides these similar analytical characteristics, the GC-OF is much cheaper than the GC-FID methodology. Different concentrations were determined for each fatty acid indicator which in turn varied significantly between the soil samples analyzed from Lisbon ornamental gardens. Additionally, the GC-OF showed a great potential as alternative for determination of eleven or more fatty acids in urban soils.     

Noise mapping at different stages of a freeway redevelopment project – A case study in Brazil

In economically developing countries such as Brazil, India and China, rising levels of noise pollution are associated with the accelerated growth of cities and the increasing circulation of automotive vehicles. This paper presents the results of an acoustic evaluation conducted in areas adjacent to federal highway BR-116, part of which lies within the urban limits of the city of Curitiba in southern Brazil. In situ measurements were taken of the noise levels, from which noise maps were drawn in different stages of the implementation of the road restructuring project called the Green Line. After calibration, a computational model was used to evaluate an operational scenario of the highway in the future. The results of the mappings were compared with reference noise emission values established by municipal legislation. The maps revealed the existence of noise pollution in the urban stretch of the federal highway in all the scenarios [L_Aeq > 65 dB(A)]. Efforts to control environmental noise in cities are aided by computational models for urban planning. These models are extremely helpful for environmental management and decision-making by public authorities for solutions to potential environmental risks, as is the case of urban noise.     

Exploring space-time structure of human mobility in urban space

Understanding of human mobility in urban space benefits the planning and provision of municipal facilities and services. Due to the high penetration of cell phones, mobile cellular networks provide information for urban dynamics with a large spatial extent and continuous temporal coverage in comparison with traditional approaches. The original data investigated in this paper were collected by cellular networks in a southern city of China, recording the population distribution by dividing the city into thousands of pixels. The space-time structure of urban dynamics is explored by applying Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to the original data, from temporal and spatial perspectives between which there is a dual relation. Based on the results of the analysis, we have discovered four underlying rules of urban dynamics: low intrinsic dimensionality, three categories of common patterns, dominance of periodic trends, and temporal stability. It implies that the space-time structure can be captured well by remarkably few temporal or spatial predictable periodic patterns, and the structure unearthed by PCA evolves stably over time. All these features play a critical role in the applications of forecasting and anomaly detection.     

含覆盖层峡谷地形对平面P、SV波的宽频散射模拟

含覆盖层峡谷对地震波的高频散射规律尚不明确．本文采用间接边界元方法(IBEM)分析半空间中含覆盖层峡谷地形对地震波的二维宽频散射,对入射波型、入射角度和频率、覆盖层深宽比等因素对覆盖层地震响应规律的影响进行探讨分析．结果表明：IBEM可高效精确地对地震波的散射进行宽频模拟．对中低频段（无量纲频率η10.0）,覆盖层放大效应减弱甚至出现缩幅效应．随覆盖层深度增加,位移放大频段的带宽逐渐减小,第一峰值频率降低,且在低频段频谱曲线振荡剧烈．另外,覆盖层形状和入射角度对地震波聚焦特征也具有重要影响,不同波型入射下聚焦区域有很大差别．实际含覆盖层峡谷地形地震反应分析需精细考虑波型、入射波频率和角度、覆盖层深宽比等因素,以更科学地进行震害解释和地震安全性评价．     

Real-time measurements of PM2.5, PM10–2.5, and BC in an urban street canyon

A continuous dichotomous beta gauge monitor was used to characterize the hourly content of PM_2.5, PM_10–2.5, and Black Carbon (BC) over a 12-month period in an urban street canyon of Hong Kong. Hourly vehicle counts for nine vehicle classes and meteorological data were also recorded. The average weekly cycles of PM_2.5, PM_10–2.5, and BC suggested that all species are related to traffic, with high concentrations on workdays and low concentrations over the weekends. PM_2.5 exhibited two comparable concentrations at 10:00–11:00 (63.4 μg/m³) and 17:00–18:00 (65.0 μg/m³) local time (LT) during workdays, corresponding to the hours when the numbers of diesel-fueled and gasoline-fueled vehicles were at their maximum levels: 3179 and 2907 h⁻¹, respectively. BC is emitted mainly by diesel-fueled vehicles and this showed the highest concentration (31.2 μg/m³) during the midday period (10:00–11:00 LT) on workdays. A poor correlation was found between PM_2.5 concentration and wind speed (R = 0.51, P-value > 0.001). In contrast, the concentration of PM_10–2.5 was found to depend upon wind speed and it increased with obvious statistical significance as wind speed increased (R = 0.98, P-value < 0.0001).